a) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a tone signal generator for generating tone signals of inputted musical performance data, and more particularly to a tone signal generator equipped with a plurality type of input/output interfaces.
b) Description of the Related Art
A musical instrument digital interface (MIDI) is widely used nowadays for the transfer of electric signals such as musical performance data. MIDI provides uni-directional transmission of data having a predetermined format via a cable with 5-pin DIN output and input connectors.
Software of personal computers for editing tone colors or automatic musical performance data is also known in practical use. Although personal computers have generally a built-in bi-directional serial interface such as RS-232 and RS-422, personal computers provided with a MIDI connector (5-pin DIN connector) is rare.
Under such an environment, it is necessary to insert a MIDI interface board into a slot of a personal computer for the data conversion of edited tone colors and musical performance data and for the data transfer to and from an electronic musical instrument via a MIDI connector cable. Mounting and connections of such a board and cable requires some labor and results in high cost.